POLITICO: ‘Top Brussels official urges Europeans to work from home & drive less’ – Iran warfare might deliver prolonged upheaval ‘reminiscent of the Covid pandemic’

https://www.politico.eu/article/europeans-urged-to-work-from-home-and-drive-less-as-eu-warns-of-long-crisis/

BY JAMES FERNYHOUGH, ELENA GIORDANO, BEN MUNSTER AND BEN MAKUCH

BRUSSELS — The European Commission has urged people to work from home, drive and fly less, and for EU countries to urgently roll out renewables, as it warned of a prolonged energy crisis as a result of the conflict in the Gulf.

In a speech with echoes of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, EU energy chief Dan Jørgensen said Europe was facing a “very serious situation” with no clear end in sight.

“Even if … peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in the foreseeable future,” he said, following an extraordinary meeting of the EU’s 27 energy ministers on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.

“The more you can do to save oil, especially diesel, especially jet fuel, the better we are off,” Jørgensen said, confirming an earlier report by POLITICO that Brussels wanted Europeans to travel less.

He urged member countries to follow the advice of the International Energy Agency, which he said included “work from home where possible, reduce highway speed limits by ten kilometers [an hour], encourage public transport, alternate private car access … increase car sharing and adopt efficient driving practices.”

Longer term, he urged EU countries to double down on building more renewables, saying “this must be the time we finally turn the tide and truly become energy independent.”

Tuesday’s talks between ministers ended with no concrete proposals, although Jørgensen promised the Commission would be announcing a package of EU-level measures in the near future.

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His comments come as fears grow that the world faces a major energy crisis exceeding even the 1970s oil shock that could have global economic ramifications comparable to the coronavirus pandemic.